Toluca vs. Tigres UANL: Time, TV schedule and how to watch 2014 Liguilla online

Favored sides advanced from three of four Liguilla quarterfinals, setting up an excellent matchup between two of the higher seeds in Thursday’s early game. Tigres UANL and Toluca narrowly got through the last round, but since no one was terribly convincing in the quarterfinals, they’ll feel like they have every chance to win the title.

Tigres and Toluca have met twice this season, in the league and Copa MX. Tigres won on both occasions, but that’s not necessarily predictive for this tie. Both games were in Monterrey, and Toluca fielded more backups in their cup match than Tigres did.

These sides both advanced to the Liguilla semifinals through the seed tiebreaker, so fans will be hoping for something a bit more conclusive in this round. If this tie does end up like the quarters, tied on aggregate and away goals, Tigres will advance to the final as the higher seeded team.

Both teams suffered some key injuries in the last round, which could be a big factor in Thursday’s game, but the managers do have mostly fit squads to pick from.

Key player - Antonio Rios (Toluca)

In the home leg, Toluca are going to be aggressive going forward and Tigres will likely be resigned to doing most of their attacking on the counter. This should make defensive midfielder Antonio Rios a very important player for the Red Devils. He’ll have to do quite a bit of covering if Richard Ortiz starts in midfield, and even more defensive work if playmaker Lucas Lobos gets the nod in a deeper position. And with striker Pablo Velazquez fighting to recover from a knock, Toluca might have to get more numbers forward than usual in order to score.

Key matchup - Toluca’s left wingback vs. Damian Alvarez

Ortiz, Emilio Orrantía and Miguel Ponce could all start at left wingback, any all of them would have their hands full with Damian Alvarez. At 35, he doesn’t quite have the pace that he used to, but he’s smarter than ever, and he has the quality to set up a goal from anywhere, at any time.

Injuries

Velazquez is a doubt for Toluca, and his status won’t be confirmed until just before the match. He’s Toluca’s leading scorer and would be a massive loss. Tigres could potentially be without the services of left back Jorge Torres Nilo, while starting central defender Juninho -- also one of their top goal threats -- is definitely out.

Match date/time: Thursday, 8 p.m. ET

Venue: Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca, Mexico

TV: Univision Deportes (U.S.), Canal 5 Televisa (Mexico)

Online: Univision Deportes en vivo (U.S.)